Through an academic enrichment program, students from across the South Side are getting excited about learning and challenging themselves in their education.

High Jump is an academic enrichment program, and its third location is in Hyde Park at the University of Chicago Lab School, 1362 E. 59th St., Lab Campus Director and former High Jump student, Paty Perea, said that there are currently 112 students enrolled; that accounts for 63 7th graders and 49 8th graders.

The program started in 1989 in Chicago, and Perea was accepted as a student in 1999. She went on to volunteer with the program through high school, and came back as a staff member after graduating from the University of Illinois.